These are notably assemblies used in the aeronautical field, and in particular the downstream section of a secondary nozzle of an aircraft nacelle and the fixed internal structure of this nacelle.
An aircraft nacelle generally has a tubular structure comprising an air intake upstream from the turbine engine, a middle section intended to surround a fan of the turbine engine, a downstream section harboring thrust inversion means and intended to surround the combustion chamber of the turbine engine, and is generally terminated by an ejection nozzle, the outlet of which is located downstream from the turbine engine.
Modern nacelles are intended to harbor a ducted-fan turbine engine capable of generating via the blades of the rotating fan a hot air flow (also called a primary flow) stemming from the combustion chamber of the turbine engine, and a cold air flow (secondary flow) which circulates outside the turbine engine through an annular passage, also called a vein, formed between a fairing of the turbine engine, often designated as a fixed internal structure and an internal wall of the nacelle. Both air flows are ejected from the turbine engine through the rear of the nacelle.
The rear section of the nacelle has an ejection nozzle intended to channel the ejection of the airflows. This nozzle may come as an addition to a primary nozzle channeling the hot flow and is then called a secondary nozzle.
The role of a thrust inverter is, during the landing of an airplane, to improve the braking capability of the latter by redirecting forwards at least one portion of the thrust generated by the turbine engine. In this phase, the inverter obstructs the cold flow vein and directs the latter towards the front of the nacelle, consequently generating a counter thrust which will be added to the braking of the wheels of the airplane.
The means applied for achieving this reorientation of the cold flow vary according to the inverter type. However, in every case, the structure of an inverter comprises moveable displaceable elements between a deployed position in which they open in the nacelle a passage intended for the deflected flow on the one hand and a retracted position in which they close this passage on the other hand. These moveable elements may fulfil a deflection function or simply for activating other deflection means.
Moreover, in order to transform an overall rectilinear displacement into essentially a rotary movement by transmitting forces transmitted on the moveable element towards other elements, it is currently resorted to a connecting rod system.
For this purpose, it is known from the state of the art how to use straight connecting rods mainly consisting of a metal rod joining two joints with a moveable axis connected to the moveable elements. Such straight connecting rods are notably used in the downstream section of aircraft nacelles, equipped with thrust inverters, and more particularly for causing the inclination of a moveable panel from a substantially rectilinear displacement of the cowl on which it is rotatably attached. French application FR 08/04295 relates to such an arrangement with a straight connecting rod connecting a panel firmly attached to the secondary nozzle to the fixed fairing section of the turbine engine.
Such a straight connecting rod system is not always adapted to these nacelles equipped with thrust inverters. The presence of such connecting rods in the secondary flow considerably perturbs the aerodynamics and reduces the performances of the engine. Also, in order not to perturb the aerodynamics, it is known how to attach the connecting rod further upstream on the fixed internal structure. However, such a positioning upstream from the straight connecting rods is often unsuitable for allowing a displacement of the cowl which sufficiently exposes the deflection means, and by doing this ensuring the sought essentially vertical positioning of the moveable panel at the end of travel.
In order to fulfil aerodynamics on the one hand and therefore the presence of a connecting rod body positioned further upstream, and to keep the pivot point of the connecting rod on the fixed internal structure located further downstream, it is possible to resort to a bent connecting rod as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,098.
However, with such a bent connecting rod, during displacements of the cowl with the panel, the connecting rod is positioned in unstable and uncontrolled conformations which may cause its breaking or weakening of the surrounding structure. Such a phenomenon is amplified by the secondary airflow in the vein which induces strong vibrations of the connecting rod on its pivot points.
In order to stabilize the connecting rod, one of the possibilities is to embed one of the pivot points of the connecting rod. For this purpose, connecting rods with the pivot point of the connecting rod foot embedded into the fixed fairing structure of the turbine engine (or fixed internal structure) are known from application FR 08/06929. However such an arrangement is not very tolerant to changes in alignment of the parts, notably dealing with the alignment of the pivot points with the attachment points into which they are intended to be embedded.